By: Franklin Asare-Donkoh
Head of Corporate Affairs at the Ghana Hajj Taskforce, Alhaji Alhassan Bashir Alhassan Fuseini, popularly known as Alhaji A. B. A. Fuseini, has announced the death of two Ghanaian pilgrims during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca.
However, Alhaji A. B. A. Fuseini did not disclose the names of the pilgrims who are said to have died while undertaking the annual pilgrimage.
According to him, approximately 60,000 Ghanaian Muslims are expected to participate in the 2025 edition of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
The Head of Corporate Affairs also revealed that five Ghanaian pilgrims have been repatriated due to visa issues.
He explained that the repatriated pilgrims were not deported for any criminal offence, contrary to speculation on social media, but rather due to errors in their visa issuance.
Alhaji A. B. A. Fuseini stressed that members of the Taskforce are working to resolve the issues and facilitate their return to Mecca.
“Some said they were deported, but we choose to use the word ‘repatriated’. Deportation connotes some criminality, but these people who have returned have not committed any crime. It was an error in the issuance of their visa. Some attempts to realign the visas resulted in some unfortunate mistakes where their visas were withdrawn. I can assure you that we are making every effort to get them to go back,” he explained.
